Manga Review: Neko Ramen vol. 1 by Kenji Sonishi

Note:  I wrote this review sometime last year.  Tokyopop, who published this, has since shut down, so you might have trouble finding a copy.

Pros: quirky, cute cats

Cons: Western readers may not get the Japanese humour

Art: comic strip style, quickly drawn

Taisho is a cat running a ramen shop.  Tanaka-san is his best (and often only) customer.  In this first volume of 4-panel comic strips, we learn how Taisho started his ramen shop, why his noodles taste odd, witness his experiments to better his shop and hire good workers.

The comics are short and quirky, examining problems a cat would have running a food shop (like trying to make rice balls where fur sticks to the rice).  Some of the humour is very Japanese, however, which some Western readers may not understand (both because they reference Japanese society or because people from other countries find different things humourous).

Still, if you're interested in Japan or just like cats, check this out.